Working with Angry, Resistant Youth: Strategies for Fostering Motivation, Self-Discipline, and Resilience

Friday, April 7, 2006
With Robert Brooks, Ph.D.

Location:

Harraseeket Inn 162 Main Street Freeport, Maine

Program Description: In this workshop Dr. Brooks will outline a strength-based approach for working with angry, resistant children and adolescents. The approach can be applied in therapy, residential programs, schools, and homes. He will describe the mindset of adults who are effective in working with these youth as well as the mindset of resilient children and adolescents. He will outline specific strategies for reinforcing a resilient mindset in at-risk youngsters, including such qualities as motivation, self-discipline, responsibility, compassion, and hope. He will also discuss a framework to assist professionals to become more "stress hardy" and less vulnerable to burnout.

About the Speaker: Dr. Robert Brooks is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and has served as the Director of Psychology at McLean Hospital. He has a part-time clinical practice and has lectured and written extensively on the themes of motivation, self-esteem, self-discipline, parenting, family relationships, hope, and resilience. Among his books, he is the author of The Self-Esteem Teacher and co-author of Raising Resilient Children; Nurturing Resilience in Our Children; and The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life, which focuses on resilience in adults.

Learning objectives:

• To learn the characteristics of the mindset of adults who work effectively with at-risk youth.
• To learn exercises to enhance empathy and respond more effectively to others
• To learn the characteristics of the mindset of resilient youth together with strategies for reinforcing this mindset in angry, resistant youth.
• To learn the importance of a strength-based model in which each youngster's "islands of competence" are identified and reinforced.
• To learn a framework for increasing our own "stress hardiness" to lessen the likelihood of burnout.